Psalm 100— Write Personally, I “find and post” more than I actually “write” but still this blogger’s / writer’s sentiments really resonate with my daily experience of wondering if I have the motivation to keep it up… seeking to find the heart of the Bible text. Thankfully that washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5) finally comes and revives my soul daily. Write—posted Tuesday, February 25, 2014 by Jeff Ponder-Twardy I haven’t written anything on this blog since November. I grew to believe that my postings were more outlets of frustrations than anything beneficial. I stopped, not knowing I’d ever write anything again, but here I am following inspiration and writing from heart . . . again. Friday morning, I read my devotional readings from the Daily Office in the BCP which is my habit, and I found myself in familiar territory, Psalm 102. Joyfully, I began to read. I didnt get far when I found a phrase that echoed inside of me. It was a plea of the heart that I’d expressed in different words recently. I’d felt encouraged in my spirit to pray for God to act swiftly in our lives regarding some specific things. In verse two I read, “Answer me speedily.” That seemed to confirm what I’d been recently praying. I’ve known of such encouragement in my prayers just a few times in my life and this was another such pat on my back from the right hand of God – answer me speedily. In those instances, God acted speedily. I have every reason to trust that God will again come to our aid swiftly. Alleluia! I continued reading and found the words that seemed to transform my life years ago when I most needed it. Verses 18-22 are the rhema words that still echo in my soul even after some 14 years. I read those verses in the NRSV, but I have them printed and taped inside the cover of my Bible in The Message translation (thus the name of this blog). In this translation I know the words best: Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise God: “God looked out from his high holy place; from heaven he surveyed the earth. He listened to the groans of the doomed, he opened the doors of their death cells.” Write it so the story can be told in Zion, so God’s praise will be sung in Jerusalem’s streets And wherever people gather together along with their rulers to worship him. After reading both translations again, something dawned on me. I don’t know if I’d ever noticed it before. In The Message, the psalmist says write. Write. The reader or listener shouldnt miss the insistence, but Ive apparently missed it for years. Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise God. Write it so the story can be told in Zion. Years ago I heard and felt the heart of God in what is to be written. God looked and heard and the opened in order to set free. I knew this was the heart of my Father. I was reborn when I read those words the first time, and since, this was always what caught my attention when I read Psalm 102. Last Friday, a new wrinkle appeared. The psalmist told me to write. Write. Write what the Father has done and is doing. It is the heart of the Father to survey the earth and hear the groans of the doomed and open their death cells, but there is action called for by the reader. Write this down so future generations will know and worship Him. I won’t have the leisure to rant and rave my frustrations with the church or with my own frailties. My primary responsibility will be to record what the Lord has done and is doing in setting the captives free. Praise God! Write. I’m supposed to write. In effect, I’m supposed to give testimony of what Jesus has done and expect more (Rev. 19:10). I don’t have the option of ignoring what was supposed to be my duty in the first place of recording what God has done and is doing. Before reading Psalm 102 with new eyes, I’d seen an episode of Pawn Stars where an expert was called in to authenticate the value of an item. In this case, it was a mandolin. The expert said that he’d never gone to work a day in his life, meaning that he loves what he does. I heard that and understood what he meant, but I couldn’t completely relate because I have a calling and not a career. I’m following a calling not for my own pleasure but for the sake of the one who called me. In this calling, I know the heart of the Father, and NOW I know one of my primary tasks for the days ahead – record what God is about to do. Not to forget verse 2, as the Lord as awakened me to write, the Lord is telling me to trust in him because he’s looking for me, for us, to join him in co-laboring NOW. Pray “answer me speedily” and “act swiftly.” The Lord is speaking and preparing us, if we have ears to hear. I’m in awe of these discoveries. I know what will be one of my primary tasks in the unprecedented revival in the years to come, and I was told years ago. It leaves me speechless. Good thing I have a keyboard. I’m blessed. Blessed to experience another confirmation that the mother of all revivals is about to unfold in fullness, and blessed that I have a small part to play in it. And so, I will write. psalm102inthemessage.blogspot/
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:43:43 +0000